Advertisement

Five things the FGC can learn from Dota 2's The International

Evo 2016 finals at Mandalay Bay
Evo 2016 finals at Mandalay Bay (Stephanie Lindgren)

The International 2016 is arguably the biggest esports event of the year. Okay, with a prize pool worth over $20 million, maybe there is no argument there.

While I typically cover fighting games, it only made sense to check out TI6 since it features the highest level of Dota 2 competition and it takes place in my backyard here in Seattle. I wanted to see what the big deal was. Spoiler: it’s a big deal. A week at TI6 got me thinking about what the FGC and Capcom could do for its mega-events.

The International 2016 stage
The International 2016 stage (Dota 2 Flickr)

Bigger can be better

Evo 2016 set a new standard for presentation and production value in the FGC by holding its finals day at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. However, The International is on an entirely different plane of esports existence, boasting soundproof booths on a stage that also functions as a display, a massive four-sided Jumbotron hanging from the rafters so you can see it from any angle, and countless caster and analyst booths spread all over KeyArena in Seattle, WA.

Yes, it takes money to do all of that. But the FGC is a creative bunch and not every event has to be quite that over the top (but Capcom Cup sure should be.)

One of the coolest parts of TI6 was the draft stages between each match. Little alternate reality versions of heroes were displayed on the Jumbotron and the broadcast during picks and bans. The production crew even had a guy in their control center animating the AR heroes, making them taunt or dance in place.

While the players were mostly inaccessible (one area where the FGC has no real issues), the casters’ desks were right by the crowd. They’re almost as popular as the players, too, as fans took the time between matches to get autographs and take selfies. It’s a nice touch, but, beyond Combo Breaker, few FGC events implement this.


Simplify qualifying

There are a lot of Street Fighter V CPT events this year. In addition to the automatic qualifying Premier Events, Capcom created more ways to qualify through more Ranking Events, Regional Finals, and even qualifying events for Regional Finals. It’s become a quite convoluted.

TI 6 simplifies matters substantially. Teams attend qualifiers and play their way in, while a handful of teams receive invites.

For the CPT? You can attempt to earn a berth through a Premier Event, qualify for a Regional Final to play for a chance to qualify for Capcom Cup, qualify through the Red Bull Proving Ground series to play for a chance to qualify for the Regional Final (which itself offers a shot at qualifying for Capcom Cup.) Or you could just qualify by having enough points on the Global Leaderboard. If that isn’t confusing enough as it is, what happens if someone wins multiple events and are already qualified for qualifying events? What a headache.

Making matters worse is the fact that pros are now traveling abroad, eating up all the Regional qualifying spots and events and taking those points or opportunities away from local players. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with that — top Asian players have been coming West to win our tournaments for years. But some tournaments lately have been trying to prevent foreign players from entering, leading Capcom to step in and clarify CPT events are open to all.

As much as I love seeing so many events out there, sometimes less is more. There has to be a way to simplify the CPT.


Crowdfunding the right way

When The International 2015’s prize pool ballooned to over $18 million thanks to crowdfunding, I wondered why Capcom wasn’t doing something similar. Dota 2 fans can purchase Compendiums which offer all sorts of goodies, and 25 percent of that purchase goes directly into TI’s prize pool.

Last year’s Dota 2 winners Evil Geniuses took home $6.6 million. This year, the prize pool checked in at over $20 million; Wings Gaming won an incredible $9.1 million. By comparison, Ryota “Kazunoko” Inoue won Capcom Cup 2015 and earned…$120,000.

Recently, Capcom finally got on the crowdfunding train by selling a $25 DLC pack that includes a CPT-themed stage, new costumes, and new character colors. Proceeds from the purchase goes towards the CPT and Capcom Cup’s prize pool. I’m curious how much it will help Capcom Cup. Many Street Fighter V players feel like they bought an incomplete game. Charging $25 for a DLC pack seems like a steep price despite the content being pretty cool.

In addition, Capcom has been cagey about how the $25 is being divided up. Some percentage of that goes towards Capcom Cup’s prize pool and apparently part of it will go towards the CPT in the future. However, Capcom said after revealing the DLC that the “majority” of it would go towards Capcom Cup.

Part of the reason TI6’s crowdfunding works is that it’s transparent. People get cool stuff and they know exactly how much of their contribution goes into the prize pool. Players should feel the same way about Capcom Cup’s prize pool.

Capcom Pro Tour Ring of Destiny stage in Street Fighter V
Capcom Pro Tour Ring of Destiny stage in Street Fighter V (Capcom)

Tell me a story

Powered by a slew of crazy upsets, TI6 had incredible storylines, and the production played up the drama all the way through finals. What I realized as I got to know more about these Dota 2 players and teams throughout the week of TI6 was that we don’t really know the players in the FGC.

Joe “LI Joe” Ciaramelli making top 8 at Evo 2016 was the ultimate Cinderella story. Barring him making it into Capcom Cup top 8, I’m not sure anything will top it in the FGC this year. But even that story came along in the final hour of play on a Saturday night.


When you think about the rest of top 8, neither Evo nor Capcom introduced us to any of the other players at the event (at least not if you were in attendance). Who the heck is Fujimara “Yukadon” Atsushi or Hiroyuki “Eita” Nagata? How dominant has Evo 2016 Street Fighter V champion Team Razer’s Seon-woo “Infiltration” Lee been this year? Why is it a big deal some guy from Long Island, New York made it into top 8? His top 8 berth prompted an even bigger story involving his dad flying across the country to see him play on the biggest fighting game stage ever.

Looking back at Capcom Cup 2015, Capcom put together a fantastic video about what Ultra Street Fighter IV meant to the players. But there was nothing chronicling their journey to get to there. I’m not talking about commentators relaying this information on the broadcasts, either. I’m talking about well-produced videos that give us an idea of who these players are as people.

TI6 (and other big esports events, like League of Legends at MSI) nailed it, and when it comes down to it, we don’t have esports without the players. And we don’t have drama without some context.

Analyze this

If you watched TI6, you probably saw a guy breaking down key moments in every match with an amazing touchscreen monitor. He was zooming in on the maps. Drawing squiggly lines to show paths and breaking down the highlights so that anyone, even idiots like me, could understand exactly what was happening.

The FGC has a wide-range of commentators who are great at breaking down the action during matches. But we only get to see analysis at mega-events like Evo or Capcom Cup, and it isn’t on the same level as what I saw at TI6. That isn’t for the lack of talent or capability from the analysts. It’s just not incorporated well into the event itself.

Even though fighting games might be one of the most spectator-friendly esports, it isn’t always easy to understand what’s taking place during high level play. Analysis is a good opportunity to educate new and casual fans by getting into the minds of players and explaining the choices they make in key moments.

Because the action is so fast-paced, commentators don’t always have time to break down why, for instance, Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi could use his parries more effectively against Infiltration at CEO than any of the other numerous times they had played before. Sometimes, things just get too hype and analysis goes right out the window.

FGC events are just now using technology to pull highlights and replays during matches. Get a great analyst and one of those swanky telestrator displays to go over those highlights and we’re set.


Michael Martin was completely out of his element at TI6, but still had a great time. Follow him on Twitter @Bizarro_Mike.